Chapter 7 ….
“Found it!”
Baron shouted excitedly, holding a conch about the size of a fist in his hand.
“Oh, good job finding it.”
I gave him a thumbs-up, and Baron grinned sheepishly. His innocent, cheerful face was so full of charm that it made me smile too.
“Not bad, little one.”
“Ugh! I’m not a little one!”
Baron pouted, clearly annoyed. Perhaps because he was so young, every expression he made was just unbearably cute.
This morning, I had grilled the leftover conch from yesterday for Baron’s breakfast, and as soon as I confirmed the tide was going out, we headed to the sea. Baron had insisted on coming along to help with shellfishing.
He said it would be fine because it was daytime and he could see well. And apparently, he’d get bored if left alone at home.
‘Alright, let’s go together. But you have to stay right by my side. Tell me immediately if it gets too hard!’
I had warned him carefully since daytime shellfishing wasn’t too dangerous, and surprisingly, he was skilled.
Even with those tiny hands, he was effective.
Thanks to him, the bucket became heavy in no time just from collecting conches. I guessed it weighed around eight kilograms.
“Let’s call it a day now.”
“Huh? Already?”
Baron looked out toward the horizon.
“But there’s still some water left to come in, isn’t there?”
“It’s already too heavy. I don’t want to tire us out completely right from the morning.”
I had a lot to do today, so I needed to save my energy.
As I stood up with the bucket, Baron reached out his hand.
“Give it here. I’ll carry it.”
“What are you talking about? It’ll be heavier if a kid carries it.”
“Nope, I’m strong.”
I shook my head at his nonsense, but Baron insisted, raising the strength in his voice.
“I’m serious. I’ll be much stronger than you.”
“Liar.”
“Just hand me the bucket and you’ll see.”
“You little thing.”
How did a seven-year-old think he could carry this? His childish bravado made me chuckle.
‘But… wouldn’t it be cute if Baron struggles to lift the bucket?’
I looked down at him, contemplating. Baron waved his hand, clearly eager to get the bucket.
‘Alright, this isn’t about teasing him. I just want him to face reality.’
It was heavy for me too—there’s no way Baron could lift it. I just had to make sure he didn’t get hurt trying.
“Okay, just try lifting it carefully, okay?”
“If I can lift it, can I keep holding it?”
I didn’t answer “no” directly, just reminded him once more:
“Be careful not to hurt yourself.”
I placed the bucket on the ground and pushed the handle toward Baron.
But then, something unexpected happened.
Baron casually lifted the bucket—one-handed!
“This is light enough.”
He actually lifted it?
Even watching, I couldn’t believe it.
I kept a close eye, worried he might get hurt. After a few steps, he frowned.
Just as I thought, I quickly reached out my hand.
“See? Hard to carry, right? Give it here now.”
“No, it’s just uncomfortable because I’m short.”
Then he balanced the bottom of the bucket with his right hand like a waiter.
“This way, it’s fine.”
“Huh?”
There was no way a seven-year-old should be this strong. My mouth dropped.
“Baron, why are you so strong?”
Baron grinned at me with wide eyes.
“The Eldit Marquis family has been knights for generations. My dad was strong even when he was little.”
Watching the little boy walk steadily, I was reminded again that this was a low-fantasy world.
“Wait! Now that I think about it…”
Suddenly, everything clicked.
I saw the breadcrumbs of the original story in Baron.
First, he had no parents. He was the sole survivor of a ruined noble family.
And with exceptional looks, intellect, and now strength from an early age…
‘Could he… be a fledgling Sword Master dreaming of revenge?’
Thanks to my experience reading low-fantasy novels, I instantly envisioned the narrative set for Baron.
‘He lost his title, had his wealth confiscated, right?’
That meant either the male lead’s side or the regent’s side—someone in the royal court—had struck at the Eldit Marquis family.
Abandoned by his nanny after losing his parents, Baron would be kidnapped and sold as a slave, nurturing hatred toward the crown, yet growing up hiding his emotions and becoming ruthless.
‘With that extraordinary strength, he’d likely escape servitude as an adult, either becoming a mercenary or hiding his identity to serve a noble, rising in rank.’
Eventually, he might become a mercenary captain or a commander of knights.
Baron could earn glory in battles against monsters, reclaim a title, and quietly wait for revenge.
Then I tilted my head.
‘Wait, that would be after the ending. His age doesn’t match. Could this be a side story?’
The original story didn’t have a mercenary captain character, but it did have a knight commander. I remembered the spin-off mentioning the royal knight commander’s rebellion.
After the main couple traveled and their daughter became empress, the knight commander, who admired her, confessed, asking to marry her.
But his proposal was rejected, and he revolted.
‘When I read it, I thought he was clumsy and foolish… and that’s our Baron?’
I recalled the commander had black long hair. His eyes might have been a deep orange—or maybe clear purple? My memory was fuzzy.
‘Ah!’
At that moment, the last piece fell into place.
‘The commander changed his name to Baron, didn’t he? Rejecting him was an excuse; the real reason was revenge. If his child dies, the parents would suffer greatly.’
However, the commander underestimated the empress’s powers. Naturally, the rebellion failed, and the commander was dealt with by the Death Knight and Raven beside the empress.
A fitting end. In web novels, villains cannot defeat the protagonist.
Watching Baron’s small round head ahead of me, I felt pity for the child.
Talented and strong, yet his fate was to spend his life sharpening a blade of revenge, only to be killed by the protagonist’s daughter’s subordinates.
‘Ah, poor little one. If you’re that knight commander, you’re doomed.’
Baron turned around.
“Why are you crying?”
“Huh? Oh.”
I hurriedly wiped my tears with my fingertips and smiled.
“I’m just impressed because our little one is so strong.”
“I’m not a little one! But… well…”
One side of Baron’s mouth lifted confidently.
“This is nothing.”
Baron continued walking, shrugging happily—it seemed he was in a good mood.
‘He’s just too cute.’
Watching him, I made a decision.
I would save Baron from the dead-end fate and protect him.
No matter how hard it is, I’d raise him with love and a warm heart.
‘I’ll earn lots of money, feed him delicious food, dress him well. Even if he can’t be a noble, I’ll raise him without lack and send him to the academy.’
If he met good friends and grew up happily, and maybe even had a girlfriend, the desire for revenge would naturally disappear.
‘Yes! Love is the answer!’
Although losing his parents was tragic, Baron’s parents would surely prefer seeing their only son marry and live happily than die pursuing revenge.
To raise Baron well, I had to earn money—which meant giving my all to shellfishing… Ah, right.
“Baron, can you show me how to catch and tame those glowing fireflies you mentioned yesterday?”
“Huh?”
“I need bright light. The brighter, the better for seeing underwater.”
Baron paused, snapped his fingers, and said:
“Yeah, it’s easy to catch. I’ll get some for you tonight.”
His confident reply made me laugh.
We washed up quickly, gathered the conches, and headed to the street vendors.
On the way, we checked necessary supplies for ourselves and the day’s seafood market prices.
The store price and street vendor price might differ, but knowing the average prevented being ripped off.
“Hello.”
The street vendor’s eyes widened at the sight of the bucket I handed him.
“Oh? No way… you actually caught them? That’s more than I expected, and they’re in great condition.”
The vendor poured my conches into a basket, weighed them, and nodded.
“Just over 8 kilos. I’ll give you 10 copper per kilo.”
Since the original story was a Korean low-fantasy, seeing familiar measurement units felt natural… but wait.
“Excuse me?”
How much did he just say?
“That’s a good deal for this amount.”
‘Sigh… where’s your conscience, sir?’
The street price for conches today was 1 silver 20 copper per kilo.
With 1 silver equaling 100 copper, he basically gave me a twelfth of the real value.
Even accounting for street vending, this was outrageous!
